Rig Veda 8.64.7: Mandala 8, Sukta 64, Mantra 7
Sukta 8.64
- Devata
- Indra
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
क्व स्य वृषभो युवा तुविग्रीवो अनानतः । ब्रह्मा कस्तं सपर्यति ॥
kvà syá vṛṣabhó yúvā tuvi-grī́vo anā́nataḥ | brahmā́ kás táṁ saparyati ||
वो कहाँ है? वो ताकत वाला, जवान, जिसका गर्दन में दम है, जो झुकता नहीं। कौन सा पुजारी उसकी सेवा कर सकता है जो सच में उसके पास जा सके?
Word by Word
- क्व
- where?Indeclinableप्रश्नार्थक-अव्यय (स्थान/कुतः-कुत्रार्थे)Role AdhikaraṇaRoot क्व (प्रश्नाव्यय)
- स्य
- indeed/now (emphatic particle)Indeclinableनिपातः; वैदिक-प्रयोगे ‘नु/खलु/इव’ इत्यर्थे (प्रश्न/उत्सुकता-प्रबोधन)Root सि/स्य (निपात; वैदिक)
- वृषभः
- the bull (mighty one)Nounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot वृषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
- युवा
- youngAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (वृषभः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- तुविग्रीवः
- strong-/mighty-neckedAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (वृषभः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्)Role KartāRoot तुवि-ग्रीव (समास; प्रातिपदिक)
- अनानतः
- unbowed, not bendingAdjectiveपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन; ‘न नमति’ इत्यर्थे (नमः/नमन-रहितः)Role KartāRoot नम् (धातु) + अ (नञ्/अ-प्रत्यय) → अनानत (कृदन्त-विशेषण)
- ब्रह्मा
- the priest/singer of sacred speechNounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचन (वैदिक: ‘ब्रह्मा’ = ब्रह्मन्-कर्ता/स्तोता)Role KartāRoot ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
- कः
- who?Pronounपुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot क (प्रश्न-सर्वनाम)
- तम्
- himPronounपुंलिङ्ग; द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot तद् (सर्वनाम)
- सपर्यति
- worships, servesVerbलट् (वर्तमान); परस्मैपद; प्रथम पुरुष; एकवचनRoot सपर्य् (धातु; ‘पूजायाम्/सेवायाम्’)
Sandhi Notes
- पदच्छेदः: क्व | स्य | वृषभः | युवा | तुविग्रीवः | अनानतः | ब्रह्मा | कः | तम् | सपर्यति । 1) ‘क्व स्य’ इत्यत्र स्य निपातः (वैदिक) — सन्धि-परिवर्तनं न। 2) ‘ब्रह्मा कः’ इत्यत्र विसर्ग/सन्धि न
- पदान्त ‘आ’ परे ‘क’ आरम्भे यथावत्। 3) ‘कस्तं’ = ‘कः तम्’ (विसर्ग-सन्धिः: कः + तम् → कस्तम्)।
The meaning
Outer meaning
Where is that bull, the young mighty-necked one who does not bow? What priest can serve him?
Inner meaning
The seeker senses Indra as an overwhelming power—unyielding to ignorance (“does not bow” to falsehood). The question ‘where is he?’ is the soul’s longing when illumination seems absent. ‘Which brahmā (inspired priest of the Word) can serve him?’ points to the needed right speech, right mantra-consciousness, and purified intelligence capable of approaching that force without distortion.
Universal truth
When the highest power seems distant, the remedy is not despair but a more truthful word, a more sincere aspiration, and a more exact inner consecration that can ‘host’ the greater force.
Themes
searching invocation, Indra as bull-force, power of the Word, worthiness
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 8.64.3-6
Significance
A diagnostic verse of sādhanā: it voices the seeker’s moment of separation and points to the necessity of the true brahman (inspired word-consciousness) to contact Indra.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- vṛṣabha (bull of power), yuvā (ever-young), tuvigrīva (mighty-necked), anānata (unbowing)
- Related deities
- Bṛhaspati (brahman of the gods), Agni (priest of sacrifice), Maruts (impulsions of force)
Cosmic role
Champion-force that cannot be bent by the powers of darkness; establishes victory of light.
Inner power
Indomitable illumination and courageous mind-force; truth that refuses compromise.
In ritual
Where it is used
Indra-stotra as a call when the deity is ‘sought’—a rhetorical summoning
क्व१॒॑ स्य वृ॑ष॒भो युवा॑ तुवि॒ग्रीवो॒ अना॑नतः । ब्र॒ह्मा कस्तं स॑पर्यति ॥
क्व॑ । स्यः । वृ॒ष॒भः । युवा॑ । तु॒वि॒ऽग्रीवः॑ । अना॑नतः । ब्र॒ह्मा । कः । तम् । स॒प॒र्य॒ति॒ ॥
kva | syaḥ | vṛṣabhaḥ | yuvā | tuvi-grīvaḥ | anānataḥ | brahmā | kaḥ | tam | saparyati
32
4 pādas of ~8 syllables (interrogative, epigrammatic)
Taut, questioning, with a strong masculine beat.
Creates yearning and intensity; turns the mind inward to seek the true contact.
- kva
- Literal: where?. Symbolic: the soul’s seeking for the absent/veiled illumination
- vṛṣabhaḥ
- Literal: bull. Symbolic: virile power, master-force of illumination
- yuvā
- Literal: young. Symbolic: ever-renewing energy of the divine mind, fresh and unconstrained
- tuvigrīvaḥ
- Literal: mighty-necked. Symbolic: immense strength to bear and turn the ‘head’ of consciousness; power of decisive direction
- anānataḥ
- Literal: not bowing. Symbolic: uncompromising truth-force that does not submit to lower nature
- brahmā
- Literal: priest, formulator of the Word. Symbolic: inspired mind that can shape mantra and true thought
- saparyati
- Literal: serves, approaches with reverence. Symbolic: right inner service: attention, surrender, exact invocation
A summons framed as a rhetorical search; suited to moments of intensifying invocation when the deity’s ‘arrival’ is demanded and the right priestly Word is emphasized.
In sequences that dramatize invocation and the need for right brahman (word-power)
Praśna (ritualized questioning) and renewed āhvāna
Use when motivation flags: treat it as an honest inquiry—‘Where is the power?’—then refine speech, intention, and attention.
vṛṣabha ‘bull’ derives from √vṛṣ ‘to rain, to be potent/virile’—Indra as raining force and energetic potency. an-ānataḥ from √nam ‘bend/bow’ marks the unyielding divine might. brahmā here is not later Brahmā (creator) but the inspired formulator of brahman (mantric power).
brahman as effective utterance, divine unyielding power, fitness of the mediator (brahmā)
The ‘right service’ (saparyā) is alignment with ṛta; only then the power is accessible.
Indra as anānataḥ embodies satya that does not bend to anṛta.
Re-contacting the divine force through the Word—brahman as a creative bridge.
Mantra-yoga / śabda-brahman orientation consonant with Aurobindo’s ‘Word as power’.
Bull = concentrated virile energy of illumination; ‘mighty neck’ = capacity to bear higher force and turn consciousness upward; ‘where?’ = eclipse/veiling phase.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The hidden/withheld Indra motif: the god of force is ‘somewhere’ and must be found and properly served through brahman (effective Word). It dramatizes the difficulty of contacting the highest power.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- The ‘bull’ epithet for a storm/war god is widely Indo-European (strength/virility metaphor). √nam ‘bow’ has PIE *nem- ‘bend’ parallels; the privative a- in an-ānataḥ preserves archaic negation morphology.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The hymn positions the human speaker as seeker and the brahmā as mediator: only the rightly inspired Word can ‘attend’ Indra. The reciprocity depends on accuracy of inner speech and offering.
Turn the question into practice: ‘Where is the unbowing power in me now?’ Then listen for the truer word/intention that can approach it.
ājñā (seeking the higher presence) and viśuddha (truthful word)
Silent kumbhaka after ‘kva’ (a brief pause of inquiry), then release with a steady exhale through the rest of the line; end with a soft inward bow of attention (not of compromise).
Intense seeking with reverent alertness.
If Indra feels absent, do not strain; purify speech (less chatter, more truth), refine intention, and repeat the mantra until a quiet ‘yes’ or inner contact appears.
Interrogative ‘kva’ should be clean and slightly lifted; keep consonant clusters precise (tuvigrīvo).
Let the first pāda feel like a searching call; the second pāda like a sober discernment about the needed brahman.
kva: combine k+va smoothly, vṛṣabhaḥ: vocalic ṛ, retroflex ṣ, tuvigrīvaḥ: long ī, keep ‘gr’ cluster crisp, anānataḥ: long ā’s, dental t, saparyati: ‘ry’ glide, short final i
Questioning yet steady; end with reverent firmness.
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